Qorvis Communications Study Shows Thompson And de Blasio With "Twitter Momentum" in New York Mayor Race

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The first Qorvis Communications Social Media Snapshot for the 2013 New York mayoral campaign revealed significant Twitter momentum for former New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio as the race heads into the final week of campaigning before the September 10 primary.

The Qorvis Social Media Snapshot reported an almost 47 percent growth in Twitter followers for de Blasio's campaign account during month of August while Thompson followers more than doubled.

Twitter Account

Growth in Followers, May

Growth in Followers, June

Growth in Followers, July

Growth in Followers, August

@BillThompsonNYC

+11.01%

+15.65%

+17.18%

+119.24%

@deBlasioNYC

+19.45%

+17.04%

+22.93%

+46.96%

@AnthonyWeiner

+28.25%

+9.65%

+34.47%

+5.52%

@Quinn4NY

+30.13%

+256.13%

-41.29%

-0.86%

"Twitter measures momentum rather than votes," said Wyeth Ruthven, a managing director at Qorvis Communications and creator of the Qorvis Social Media Snapshot. "De Blasio has been steadily building a following over the summer, but Thompson appears to be benefiting from a last-minute surge."

Ruthven expressed caution with regard to the recent increase in followers of Bill Thompson's Twitter account. Although Thompson's Twitter following more than doubled in the last week of August, Quinn saw a similar burst of followers in June but a precipitous decline throughout the summer. "Political campaigns are a magnet for fake followers and that's what could be happening here," Ruthven said.

Twitter Account

Number of Followers,May 1, 2013

Number of Followers, June 1, 2013

Number of Followers,July 1, 2013

Number of Followers,Aug. 1, 2013

Number of Followers,Sept. 1, 2013

@BillThompsonNYC

3161

3509

4058

4755

10,425

@deBlasioNYC

4535

5417

6340

7794

11,454

@AnthonyWeiner

11,085

14,216

15,588

20,961

22,118

@Quinn4NY

3150

4099

14,968

8788

8712

After double-digit growth in May and July, the Qorvis Social Media Snapshot noted an increase of only 5.5 percent in followers for former Congressman Anthony Weiner in August. Weiner has only tweeted four times since his July 23 press conference and all of those were to acknowledge additional inappropriate text messages. "Anthony Weiner has stopped tweeting and Twitter users have stopped following," Ruthven said. "It remains to be seen whether voters will ignore him as well."

Ruthven is the author of multiple social media studies, including "Twitter Trends in 2009 Off-Year Elections: Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts," "2010 Top Ten Races to Watch on Twitter" and the Twitter Valuation Analysis of the 2012 Republican Presidential Primary. The Qorvis Social Media Snapshot analyzed the monthly growth in the number of followers for the campaign Twitter accounts of the leading candidates for the Democratic nomination.

About Qorvis Communications, LLC Formed in August 2000, Qorvis provides its clients with expertise in the areas of public and media relations, advertising, public affairs, financial services communications, grassroots campaigns, Internet-based campaigns, digital media strategies, online reputation management and research and opinion surveys. For more information, visit www.qorvis.com, or follow us on Twitter: @qorvis.